Cobblestone scoping session draws out unhappy residents

Residents of
Errick Road and Lemke Drive were vocal in their concerns about a nearby Rosal
Homes development last Wednesday at the public scoping session on Cobblestone
Creek, held at Town Hall.

Many residents,
Rosal Homes President Gary DiMatteo, Town Attorney Robert O'Toole and the Town
Board attended the two-hour meeting.

Also present at
the meeting was Andrew Reilly of Wendel Companies, who was called in for his
experience in conducting State Environmental Quality Reviews. The scoping
session, which is the first part of an environmental impact statement, was
designed for members of the public to state their concerns and direct the town
in what should be studied in the eventual environmental impact statement.

"We want a simple
document that talks about the issues of concern to you and how they're being
resolved," Reilly said. "Tonight's about you. In the scoping process, the
public gets the input."

The public did not
hold back.

Several residents
spoke about drainage issues in the area. They argued that the developer's plan
to raise the ground 8 feet would worsen already dangerous flooding conditions.
Joe Downie pointed out that part of the land to be raised included an area that
currently forms a natural retention pond.

"The model
suggests that, instantly, the water will just drain because it goes higher.
That is unadulterated nonsense," he said. "If it was gonna drain, it would
already drain. ...The emperor's not wearing any clothes on that one; the theory's
just bunk."

In terms of
mitigation, Downie suggested the developers just avoid building on the
retention pond, or find a way to reroute the drainage to an area like Ward
Road, which has a bigger sewage line.

Bob Parkhill, who
has lived in the area since 1955 and has worked on its sewer system, said
flooding has been a problem for a long time, since before Lemke Drive was
developed.

"It's like a
bathtub with a plug drain, that's what we have. ... It's gonna be a constant
issue, it's almost like you're in Venice or New Orleans," he said. Although he
supported development in general, he said the area could not handle Cobblestone
Creek's drainage, and it was not the fault of either Rosal Homes or the Town
Board.

"Granted, the
developers, they do do a good job. They build nice houses in the Town of
Wheatfield, and this is a complete drainage issue - it's maxed out," Parkhill
said.

He was met with
applause from his neighbors after speaking.

Traffic Study

Residents also
pushed for a new traffic study in the area, stating they were unsatisfied with
the one prepared by Rosal Homes. A major issue with the study was that it
relied on the subdivision being occupied mostly by non-driving senior citizens.

"My problem with
that is this: that study was done under the assumption that the target market
is seniors. However, there's nothing that limits this patio home project to
seniors," said Richard Lipis, an attorney representing some of the residents in
attendance. Pointing out that the development could also attract young
families, he argued, "Either you can accept the traffic study and restrict ...
the project to a senior community ... or it seems to me you have to redo the
traffic study assuming that the patio homes, the number of cars going back and
forth, will not just be based on senior citizens."

Reilly agreed and
said a traffic study should look at the worst-case scenario, because the
project couldn't be restricted to only seniors.

Resident Debbie
DiBartolomeo also requested a new traffic study consider the effect of accidents
at the intersection between Ward Road and Niagara Falls Boulevard, because it
happens frequently enough to cause issues on Errick Road.

"Sometimes it's
three or four hours our street is blocked with traffic because there's an
accident and Mercy Flight has to land," she said. "If you add 80 more cars to
that from 40 houses, that's going to be a big deal."

Even if the area
did attract only senior citizens, though, DiBartolomeo said that raised a new
concern, because they would likely require ambulance services more often than
others, and the narrow roads make it difficult for emergency vehicles to
maneuver in the area.

"What happens when
a person in the senior community has a heart attack, and the ambulance and the
fire department have to get through, and school's letting out?" she asked.
Downie added that the board should speak with St. Johnsburg Fire Co., because
some people there had also voiced concerns.

Wildlife

Emily Frank, a
Wheatfield resident of 30 years, also brought up the possibility of wildlife
being impacted. Frank, who grew up in Buffalo, said she originally moved to
Wheatfield not knowing anything about it.

"Then I found out
about what a great place it really is," she said. "One of the things I was
really impressed about, with the proximity to the cities ... it's amazing how
much wildlife we have here."

Frank read a list
of different animals she'd seen in her yard, including foxes, deer, coyotes,
owls, herons and, once, a bald eagle, among others.

"Even the bugs -
praying mantises, Luna moths - these are things that, growing up, I would have
never expected to see them around here in Western New York, where there's all
these chemicals and other things," she said. "We talk about the rainforest and
the Amazon and all these terrible things that are happening in the world in the
environment. ... It's right here. We have a choice right here to facilitate the
growth of these things. Or else we could turn into Amherst or the City of
Buffalo."

Frank suggested
the land where the subdivision is located be rezoned agricultural, deeded to
the town and turned into a nature preserve named after DiMatteo.

Property Values

Another issue
brought up was property values, which Reilly warned could not be included in an
environmental impact study.

Lipis disagreed.

"If the effect of
the project would result in deterioration to a nearby neighborhood, which of
course would then result in property value diminution, the deterioration of the
neighborhood and the adverse effects on the neighborhood, which would affect
property values, certainly is appropriate for an EIS and in fact, would be
required to be in an EIS," he argued.

Downie also
brought up how the development would affect the character of the community,
because for some residents the raised elevation would mean going out to their
backyards and looking at at least 6 feet of dirt.

"I believe that
being within the development would be a nice place ... I'm not concerned with
that, I'm talking about being below that," he said. "The elevation issue is
just absurd. It's arrogant; the fact that we would all just put up with that
and that you guys would even consider letting them do that is just
preposterous. It just goes beyond insanity."

At the end of the
meeting, Damon Morey attorney Jeff Palumbo, representing DiMatteo, spoke. He
began by addressing the town's positive SEQR declaration, which in turn led to
the scoping session.

"We quite frankly
take exception to that, because we believe the information in front of them
should have led them to what their engineer recommends, which was a negative
declaration," Palumbo said. "But we're not objecting to it, we're not opposed
to that, because we understand this is in your backyard. We do, believe it or
not, understand it's in your backyard and you have concerns - rightfully so. We're
going to address those concerns. ... I don't want to fight about this, and I
don't think you do either."

When he began to
talk about the elevation and drainage and traffic issues, unhappy residents
countered his points as he spoke.

On drainage, he
said, "Our obligation is not to cure the town's flooding problem, and I don't
think anyone is suggesting that. But we do have an obligation not to make it
worse."

As residents
insisted the project would worsen the issue, he said, "If we can't control the
water, it (the project) is over."

Palumbo also
called traffic an "insignificant issue" because it would represent a small
increase over the cars already in the area, but he did agree that the possible
impact on Errick Road Elementary School was "critical" to look into.

On Monday, the
Town Board scheduled a furtherance of the Cobblestone declaration for 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 22, at Town Hall.